hi Shirley! that would be great, thanks! sending you an email :) wow, that was quick LOL

Pondy ,some of the stuff is right from the immediate area and some ferns from Neighbors and Daughters ,a lot from within 500ft of this place..its just a mini woodlands. This sub division that I am in used to be a piece of farmland or dumping spot at one time. A lot of people in this sub division cut a lot of their trees down, and lost a lot of native stuff.There were some Jack in the pulpits,false Solomons Seals, Grape ferns ,Virginia Creeper and more I cant think of. Birds with their droppings, add native plants like Prenanthes altissima ( a native aster family plant ). I had purchased the Bloodroot because I have not seen any of it around here and thought it was cool.We have Mayapples around the area as well as trillium ( white ) will buy red someday to add..I also have these mini pine tree types..they dont get more than 5-6 inches..they pop up here and there..would like to have only native types,but some Hostas etc. get thrown into the mix.If you would like to see a mini slide show , I'll try and put the link up here...i dont have real good sucess..please let me know if it comes thru....Tom

It's the evergreen trees that bother me... So many of them are quite shallow-rooted and 'hungry'. I can think of many of my own NZ natives that fall into this category. As you already know, the ivy will cope just fine because of its rooting system. Before you spend on woodland bulbs - check what's under the soil. And - be prepared to add plenty of good and ancient leaf mould/compost because your soil will probably be short on humus. It could also be a chore to dig. You may be able to use some form of hugelkultur to offset the drawbacks for a few years as you say your lot has not been built on. If you also have deciduous trees - hardy Cyclamen are glorious under maples. Chionodoxa will be fine and also grow in company with Hosta (but deer are very partial to those...) Not quite bulbs - the woodland Anemones, and Sanguinaria. Also Epimedium. The new growth can be lovely in spring. If you have rich patches - light wells and good soil - patches of the smaller Liliums - mackliniae is a pleasant pink, for example. I'd agree on the fritillaries and would be more inclined toward pontica. It can go 'rice grain' if not planted deeply enough - but many are like that. You could try with Narcissus - some of the species and crosses from cyclamineus do quite well in a deciduous tree environment with shade thereafter. I'd also agree on the Arisaema and Arisarum. The leaves alone can be very pleasant. However, they, too, have rule the world tendencies. Not in the least bulbous: Chiastophyllum, Brunnera, Helleborus and Corydalis - but they can be very shade and drought tolerant once they've settled in.

I can't answer your question about squirrels, because I don't have any near my gardens. (They stick to the woods and avoid my open land.) However, if it makes you feel any better, I planted trillium, jack-in-the-pulpit, and lady's slipper seeds from a nursery in my own shady brook-side garden, and the newly emerging plants were all eaten by slugs. :-( This same nursery has grown plants for sale from time to time, so I may try again, but the experience was discouraging. I'm surprised that Dutchman's breeches were sold to you as shade plants. Mine grow in full sun. I didn't plant them; they just sprouted by my barn door and I let them grow, so I'm guessing that full sun areas are their preferred venue. I'm sorry about your wildflowers. :-( I hope you are able to solve the squirrel problem. You mentioned bulbs, but to my knowledge all of these wildflower species grow from seed, not bulbs. Perhaps squirrels or some other marauding rodents like the roots and plants both.